


To the Ends of the Earth

by an_endeavor



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, slight timeline divergence: no lmds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 13:06:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14356122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/an_endeavor/pseuds/an_endeavor
Summary: Inconvenient soulmate quirk au.  When you realize a person is your soulmate, you are instantly transported to another part of the world, a detail that Melinda doesn’t appreciate.





	To the Ends of the Earth

**Author's Note:**

> I read a list of "inconvenient soulmate quirk" aus recently and I fell in love with this prompt. When you realize someone is your soulmate you are instantly transported across the world. Melinda never believed in such a thing until she found herself instantly teleported to China after a late night conversation with Phil. This is my first philinda fic so here it goes. (originally posted on tumblr)

When a person realizes they have found their soulmate (it has to be realized, it doesn’t happen on cue, which can be incredibly inconvenient for stubborn people) they find themselves instantly transported to a different part of the world. Something about “traveling to the ends of the earth for the one you love” which Melinda always thought was over-romanticized and would be more inconvenient than romantic. She always thought she was too down to Earth for that to come true, that it was a story for people with their heads in the clouds, which is probably why her first thought after being transported across the world was to be irritated. Even though it is a ridiculous event that can’t be controlled, Melinda still found herself blaming Phil. If he hadn’t been so relentless with his care and presence she wouldn’t even have been in this mess. She thought she had given up on serious relationships after Andrew but there she was, hiking through China in search of a phone. 

She had been sitting with Phil, discussing hypothetical retirement destinations over a drink, laughing at his pros-and-cons list of living in the Australian Outback. It had become rare for the two of them to have a moment alone, free from imminent threat, and both didn’t take the quiet for granted. They made light of their battered state and years of wear and tear, not completely letting go of the seriousness of it either, briefly allowing themselves to imagine a life where they weren’t constantly moving from one crisis to the next. 

“I guess it wouldn’t really matter where we went. If we could survive that shack in Siberia then I think we would be just fine somewhere with actual space. Although,” he added, “I would prefer we went somewhere a little warmer than that.” 

She chuckled a bit at the mention of their “safehouse,” a shack they had broken into after a mission early on in their careers, which lacked an exit plan, had gone sideways. The shack had consisted of a wood burning stove for warmth, a bathroom, and a bed tossed in the center. Their food consisted only of canned beans, the only contents in the cabinets, for the few days it took SHIELD to locate them. They still looked for the familiar glint in each other’s eyes anytime beans were present at a meal. But that wasn’t what she was focusing on at that moment. No, she was focusing on the way he had spoken that last statement. He said it with such sincerity, as if he was completely confident that they would retire and live the rest of their lives in some cabin together, free of the constant turmoil that surrounded their lives. Of course, when she met his eyes he wore that same smile he always did with her and for a moment she let herself believe that potential future was possible. 

The next thing she knew, she was in a rice field while an elderly man screamed in Chinese about a strange woman appearing out of nowhere, running away like his life depended on it. She rolled her eyes to the sky at her predicament, taking a few calming breaths before trudging out of the knee-deep water she found herself in. There were three things she knew in that moment: Phil Coulson was her soulmate, she was most likely in China, and she was annoyed. 

After hours of hiking through rural areas, and only having her thoughts to deal with, Melinda finally made her way into a city and found a phone. At least, if there was any positive to this unnecessary relationship quirk, she had time to think about what all this meant before she needed to face anyone she knew. Of course she loved Phil, she would lay down her life for him, but knowing it and admitting it out loud were two different things. She had become so used to playing her cards close to her chest that this event violated her entire reticent persona. At least he was the only one there. She knew she could trust him with this. It was about him anyway. She took a moment to collect herself before dialing. She knew he was going to have that smug tone when he answered. After taking a calming breath, she punched in the number with a little more force than necessary, feeling a bit more at ease when his tone was more concerned than smug. 

“Coulson.”

“It’s me.”

“May! Where are you? Are you okay?,” the corner of her mouth quirked up as she rolled her eyes fondly at his frantic questioning. 

“You know I am or I wouldn’t be calling you. Although I am currently in China when I should be at the base.” 

“Right. So -” there it was. She could hear his tone shift in the way a child’s does when they’ve learned a secret, drawing out the O in his words before she cut him off. 

“We’re not discussing this over the phone. Did you trace the call yet to come get me?” 

“Right. Yeah. Of course I did.”

“Good. And Phil?,” she paused, feeling a bit strange about approaching the subject at all. “You didn’t tell anyone did you?” She inquired, her voice feeling a bit smaller than usual. 

“You know I wouldn’t do that to you.” She took comfort in the way he said it, like it was the most obvious statement in the world. She felt some of the tension in her shoulders fall away at that. “I’ll leave tomorrow to come get you. Say you were on a confidential mission or something good like that.” They discussed the details of their meeting and when finished he added, “You’ll be okay till then?”

She scoffed into the phone. Choosing not to dignify that question with a response. She could hear the smile and warmth in his tone when he replied, leaving a concluding statement. 

“Be safe, Melinda.” 

—————

“This is your fault,” she spoke in a low even measure, shooting a glare in Coulson’s direction as she made her way into the quinjet. Neither chose to elaborate any further due to the presence of the other agents necessary to pilot and navigate their way to get her. They were rookies that Coulson threatened to get rid of if the location of their mission had ever gotten out to anyone, especially to other agents. Their attempts to appear uninterested didn’t have May fooled, as they seemed a bit too interested in their gear, simultaneously sending multiple glances their way after her comment. Phil just smiled and sat back in his seat for take off. No one commented when May took the seat next to him, pressed shoulder to thigh with each other before falling asleep for their journey back. The agents definitely did not comment on the way she shifted towards him in her sleep either. 

When she awoke hours later, they were still pressed together, side by side, and Phil’s hand had found its way to her knee. Her eyes immediately flicked to the other agents, worried they would see something and get ideas in their heads. 

“It’s okay. Were on autopilot, they’re asleep.” He spoke in an almost inaudible tone just in case, giving her knee a reassuring squeeze. She let out a deep sigh, feeling her shoulders relax. Placing her hand atop his, she stroked over his knuckles with her thumb. 

“I’m glad it was just you with me.” 

“Yeah, it might have been harder to convince them your disappearing trick was because you’ve become a master magician.” 

They both quietly laughed at that, his hand turning to twine their fingers together. He was just about to say something else when they heard a snort, like one of the agents had just woken themselves up, and May was instantly out of her seat heading towards the cockpit. 

“Sleeping on the job Nathanson?” She asked, amused as he almost jumped out of his chair, back ramrod straight. 

“O-oh uh Agent May, I was just - uh,” he spluttered. 

“Relax Nathanson, you two head back and settle in, I’ll take over,” she said, eyeing the other bleary eyed agent as well. 

With that she took her place in the pilot's chair and revelled in the feeling of comfort the familiarity of the action brought with it. 

—————

When they had finally made their way into his office after deflecting loads of questions, from Daisy especially who seemed to be worryingly suspicious, she let out a breath after she heard the door click shut. Their questions seemed to put her back on edge. She wasn’t ashamed of this new found knowledge, she never could be, but that didn’t change the fact that she was a very private person. The thought of all the knowing looks she would have gotten from the other agents over information she didn’t choose to personally share made her skin crawl. It was her and Phil’s business and she wasn’t keen on sharing it before they had a chance to truly explore its meaning. 

She thought she was free of all the ridiculousness once the door had closed behind them but she should have known better. She took a deep breath, ready to finally discuss all of it free from distraction, but when she turned around all she could see was Phil beaming at her, a touch of amusement in his eyes. 

“Dammit Phil!”

“What?!” His large grin didn’t falter as he made his way closer to her. She was too tired to even think about hiding her eye roll. 

“You did this!”

“Technically you did this,” he quipped.

“You know I ended up in rural China? Not the most convenient place to land with no money and no cell phone. To make it worse I landed knee deep in a rice field. I had to hike the entire way in wet shoes.”

“Well at least you could speak the language -“

“That’s not the point,” she interrupted, shooting him a glare that lacked its usual intensity which let him know that she wasn’t truly upset at him, just at the whole “teleporting across the world because she realized he was her soulmate” part.

“- When I first found out,” he continued as if she hadn’t interrupted in the first place. “I ended up somewhere in Belarus. And I was still a little tipsy. Not a good time for me. At least I had money in my pockets though.” 

“When you first found out?” She felt the exasperation leave her body and some of the air as well. She didn’t remember him ever being whisked away to another country without his control. He certainly never told her about it. How long had he known about them then? “Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked softly, eyebrows knitting in concern. 

He cocked his head towards her, giving her a look that meant it was very obvious why he didn’t say anything. 

She consented, giving him a nod while donning a familiar look they both knew, the look that said, _fair point._

“When?” 

“You remember a while back when you thought I ditched you to go on a solo mission?” 

She nodded. She did remember. 

_They had a particularly challenging mission and decided to head to a dive bar to drown their sorrows away from the younger agents. At the time, locking themselves in his office wasn’t an option because he was no longer director. It was instead being occupied by director Mace. So discussing things away from the younger agents meant finding solace among strangers. She still remembers the looks they got from the other patrons at their battered state and the understanding look the bartender gave them when he poured them doubles without question before they slipped into a corner booth away from prying eyes. He sat across from her and thought out loud on how he could have made the mission smoother, eventually moving on to vocalizing his worries for the future. He was still worried about Daisy. She had just recently returned and it seemed like she was ready to run off at any given time. Like she was constantly one foot out the door. May offered him comfort by way of bluntly telling him her opinions, which he took as truth, as she always did. That was comfortable for them. It always had been, even so they had slowly grown warmer towards one another, more open. She thought nothing of his foot leaning against her thigh as he propped it up on her side of the booth. Or of giving his ankle a gentle squeeze when he began nervously tapping it against her, talking about the close call the kids had. She even refrained from rolling her eyes as he squinted at her knuckles, allowing him to take stock of the cuts and bruises on them._

_Having steadily filled themselves with alcohol and eased some tension, she had stood from the table with the intention of heading to the bathroom but paused to face him for a moment. She placed her hand on his forearm, making sure his eyes were looking back at hers before she spoke. He needed to hear her on this._

_“Daisy will come back when she’s ready. And no one knows better than I do that you’ll be there to help her pick up the pieces.”_

_Her fingertips brushed over his forearm briefly before she turned and made her way to the bathroom._

_Upon her return, he was nowhere to be found. She felt adrenaline grip her once again as the bartender claimed he hadn’t seen where he had gone off to. She did a sweep of the surrounding area and found nothing. She’d even woken Daisy to have her search cameras and databases in the area and felt cold when they once again found nothing of use. It wasn’t until a few hours later that she had received his phone call telling her he had to leave for an unexpected mission right that second. She was livid from that point up until he had finally returned and she had spoken her peace. She let him know how stupid and reckless she thought he was for going off on his own when he got back. She also remembered the soft look he was giving her the whole time she was berating him for his stupidity which, at the time, had only served to fuel her anger at his utter disregard for his own safety._

“So you weren’t just being stupid,” She quips unable to resist adding, “that time,” eliciting a soft grin from Phil. 

 

—————

At some point, they had settled against his desk, shoulders brushing, both had their arms folded across their chests. 

“We’re okay, right?,” he asked, breaking their comfortable silence.

The corners of her mouth involuntarily quirked up when she felt his shoulder intentionally bump hers. 

“More than okay, I’d say,” she confirmed before shifting to face him. She leaned forward making her intention known and he met her halfway. 

Their lips brushed for a moment as his hand rose to cradle the back of her head. The kiss was brief but welcome, a promise lingering behind it. 

They both relaxed easily into their quiet, newfound intimacy. They had known each other long enough that a loud declaration of their evolved relationship wasn’t necessary. Teleporting across the world was dramatic enough, too dramatic in May’s opinion. Instead they settled into one another and let go of the chaos that surrounded them earlier, letting a sense of calm wash over them. 

Yeah, they were going to be just fine.


End file.
